Primer



April 4, 1944. G. E. FRANCK PRIMER Filed Dec. 24, .1941

` nu S@ .y n fk m l I||.| Il.- W ..m1%\ wm E? w mmfhq Z w Q N u MW w mum w www .u \X\\\ uw.; \i I@ i i... a. NS uw n Q ww. my NQ .mm ww wwwi*um W v a u N wm. Nm. \k N 3m S Patented Apr. 4, 1944 UNITEDsTATEsrATENT OFFICE George E. Franck, Riverside, Ill., assignor to TheImperial Brass Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Application December 24, 1941, Serial No. 424,261

5 Claims. (C1.-103--154) My invention relates to primers and inparticular hand-operated plunger type primer pumps for gasoline engines.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide a new and improvedprimer of the plunger type which is equipped with a spring pressedshut-off valve and a locking mechanism which can be released by thumbpressure on the handle.

Also among the objects of my invention is to provide a new and improvedplunger type primer in which spring pressure serves to hold the outletvalve closed when in normal position and likewise cooperates with thetemporary locking mechanism in order to hold itin locked relation shipwhen it is desired to have the valve closed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improvedtemporary locking mechanism for a primer wherein one main resilientmember forces the locking element into engagement and wherein thelocking element is spring pressed by another member so as to be alwaysurged outwardly in a potential locking position regardless of theposition of the plunger.

The invention also includes among its objects a releasing device for thelocking mechanism incorporated in the handle and actuable from the faceof the handle.

With these and `other objects in View, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangetion showing the locking mechanism in releasedposition.

A great variety of types `of automotive primers have been designed inthe past devoted primarily to the purpose of forcing a priming uid intoa gasoline engine for the purpose of starting it. Primers have beendesigned essentially as pumps fitted with a pump valve and check valvesso that Vliduid might be drawn from a source of liquid supply and pumpedthrough another liquid line to the engine. Little attention has beengiven to a convenient means for locking the primer pumps inclosedposition or in providing a lock'- ing mechanism which could bequickly and easily released. It has been found that unless the handle ofthe plunger of the primer is retained in its inward position when not inuse it is quite apt to be caught or knocked by the occupant of theautomotive vehicle and either it is damaged or perhaps serves to causedamage to the occupant, his clothing or his person, `especially if theplunger handle sticks out a long ways. In providing pumps for tanks usedin warefare handles which cannot be locked in place are extremelyunserviceable.

In addition to this it is sometimes necessary to quickly operate theprimer. In primers heretofore devised Where they may have been providedwith a locking mechanism it has usually been of the screw type so thatconsiderable time is necessary to unscrew the handle of the plunger fromits locked position before the primer can be operated. It is the purposeof the present inventio-n to provide a quick, easy, economical devicewihch locks automatically when the plunger is pressed inwardly and whichcan be released instantaneously.

In the embodiment of a primer chosen to illustrate my invention, thereis shown a barrel ID comprising the main body portion of the primer andat one end thereof a casting I2 designed to accommodate check valves andan outlet valve.

Within the barrel is a plunger I4 provided at its outside end with ahandle I6 used to operate the plunger.

The casting t2 is provided at the lower side as viewed in Figure 1 witha boss i8 in which is `a threaded aperture 20. At the inside end of theaperture il? is a passage 22 in the boss joining a corresponding passage24l in the barrel and providing thereby an inlet port for the primer. Afitting 26 is threadably engaged within lthe aperture 20 of the boss I8.The tting has in it a passage 28 and a valve seat 3D upon which ispositioned a ball valve 32 urged to closed position by a coiled spring34. Inlet tubing 36 is secured to the fitting by means of a conventionalnut 38.

Also on the casting I2 is provided a lateral boss 40 in which is arecess 42 closed by a threaded plug 44. Within therrecess 42 is a valveseat 46 upon which is positioned a ball valve 48 urged normally to aclosedposition by a coiled spring 5t. A passage 52 connects the recesswith the interior of the barrel I0 and forms an outlet port.`Communicating with the recess 42 is an outlet passage 54 to which isconnected a tube similar to the inlet tube 36 and it is through thistube "to an inward position as shown in Figure l.

that the priming liquid is passed to the engine.

Within the barrel I is a chamber 56 which is elongated and cylindricalin form. The plunger I4 lies within the chamber 56. At the left end ofthe plunger I4 as viewed in Figure 1 is a recess 58 housing a coiledspring 60. A plug 62 has a sliding fit in the outside end of the recess58 of the plunger. At the end of the plug is a cup valve 64 which has asnug frictional sliding fit in contact with the walls of the chamber 56.The plug likewise is provided with a depressed portion 66 at the end inwhich is positioned a disc valve 68. The disc valve in turn is seatednormally upon an annular valve seat 1|) at the inside end of the outletport 52. Y

It will be noted that the interior portion of the plug is provided witha slot l2 and that a pin 'Hl is mounted in the wall of the plunger andextends through the slot.

At the right end of the barrel as viewed in Figure l there is provided asleeve 'i6 threaded at the outside in order to accommodate clamping nuts'il' and 73. At the right-hand end of the plunger is an axial pocket B5in which is positioned a coiled spring 32 cooperating with a piston 84which is slidably mounted within the pocket axially and. normally urgedin an outward direction. Likewise in the pocket .is a somewhat.heart-shaped cam 3S pivotally mounted by means of a pin 8S whichextends through the wall of the plunger slightly of center. rlhe cam.has a cam face 89 which engages the piston and. a nnger 9!! whichextends outwardly through an axially extending slot 92 in the wall ofthe plunger. A closure nut Sil surrounds the plunger and substantiallycloses the space between the plunger wall and the sleeve. Within theclosure nut is an annular recess 95 which has a gentlyy sloping inwardside and a shoulder portion on the outer side which is designed toengage the finger of the cam. Surrounding the plunger adjacent theright-hand end as viewed in Figure l is a frictional packing 98 held inplace by rings 9S and a coiled spring l.

At the outer end the plunger is provided with Ythe knob I6 forming thehandle which is threadably engaged upon the outer end of the plunger.The knob has a passage |532 extending centrally through it and withinthe passage is a button |03 'which extends a slight distance beyond theouter surface |54 of the knob. At its other end the button is positionedwithin the outer end of the axial pocket in the plunger and a relativelywide annular recess EN at the midportion of the button receives aninwardly spun shoulder |08 at the end of the plunger in order to holdthe button slidably in place.

In operation the plunger is normally pressed In this position the discvalve 68 is seated upon the valve seat lo and held there by means of thecoiled spring 60. It will be noted that there is some freedom. ofmovement due tothe slot 'l2 .being relatively long so'that it can slidea limited distance back and forth determined by the position of the pinll. The valve 63 is spring pressed to a closed position. Likewise innormal position the cam 85 is urged outwardly by the spring pressedpiston Vklei so that the nger 90 engages the outer wall of the annularrecess 96.

When it is desired to release the plunger for priming the operatorpresses the button 593mwardly. Thereupon the inward end of the button isurged against the contacting point of the cam 86 which is on the lowerside of the pin 88 as viewed in Figure 1 and tilts the cam in aclockwise direction as shown in Figures 1 and 4. When the button ispressed inwardly, the piston 84 compresses the spring 82 a slightamount. Tilting of the cam releases the linger 90 from engagement withthe annular recess and the operator with his thumb still on the button|03 can draw the plunger outwardly by means of the knob. During thepumping operation of the primer, the operator grasps the knob with thefingers and retains his thumb upon the button.

. As the plunger is pumped in and out, priming liquid is drawn past theinlet check valve 30 and forced past the outlet check valve 48. When thepumping operation has been completed, the operator releases his thumbfrom the button |03, pushes the knob to its inwardmost positionwhereupon the spring pressed piston 84 again forces the cam BS, thistime in a counterclockwise direction so that the finger 9S re-engagesthe Wall of the annular recess 93.

There has thus been provided a simple, eiiicient primer which can beeasily and automatically lockedy in an inwardly pressed position andwhich can be unlocked with equal ease and rapidity in order that no timemight be lost in working the primer should that be necessary.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose ofmy invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modifiedforms of structure, or use of mechanical equivalents, which may bereasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

' 1. In a primer having a body, a substantially cylindrical chambertherein, inlet and outlet ports leading respectively into and out ofsaid chamber and a valve sea-t at the outlet port, the combination ofone part comprising a plunger reciprocably slidable in said chamber, arecess in the inside end of the plunger, another part comprising a plugslidably positioned in the recess and a valve carried by the plugadapted to be moved against the valve seat, one of said parts having aslot therein and the other of said parts having a pin mounted thereonand passing through the slot for limiting movement of the plug relativeto the plunger, and a coiled spring in the bottom of the recess normallyextending the plug relative to the plunger, said plunger at the otherend thereof having an axial pocket and an axially extending slot in theplunger wall adjacent the pocket, a spring pressed piston slidablymounted in the pocket normally urged in an outward direction, a camelement in the pocket having a pivoted mounting eccentric relative tothe plunger axis and having a cam face engaging said piston and a fingerthereon forming aV detent normally extending outwardly through saidslot, a nut surrounding the plunger substantially closing the outer endof the chamber and having an annular recess forming a shoulder on theouter side thereof normally engaging said finger to lock the plungerwithin the chamber in valve closing position and a sloping surface onthe inside thereof adapted to engage the rear side of said linger and tourge said linger into the slot when the plunger is moved inwardly of thechamber, a knob secured to the outer end of the plunger having a centralpassage, and a button extending through the passage having one endinside said pocket engaging a portion of the cam element on the side ofthe pivoted mounting opposite from the finger, a relatively wide annularrecess between the ends of the button and a relatively narrow anchoringelement cn the plunger engaged therein providing a limited sliding litfor the button, said button having an outside end normally extendingbeyond the outer surface of the knob adapted to be depressed againstspring pressure to release the finger from normal plunger lookingposition to allow manual pumping movement of the plunger, said camelement being adapted to automatically lock said plunger in valveclosing position when the plunger is pushed inwardly sufficient topermit engagement of said finger and said shoulder.

2. In a primer having a body, a substantially cylindrical chambertherein, inlet and outlet ports leading respectively into and out oisaid chamber and a valve seat at the outlet port, the combina tion oi aplunger reciprocably slidable in said chamber, a spring pressed valveslidably mounted at the inside end of the plunger having a closedposition against the valve seat under spring presx sure, said plunger atthe other end thereof having an axially extending slot in the plungerwall adjacent the pocket, a cam having a pivoted mounting eccentricrelative to the plunger axis, a spring pressed element normally urgingthe cam to an outward position and a linger on the cam forming a detentnormally extending out of said slot, a nut surrounding the plungerhaving a shoulder normally engaging said linger to lock the plungerwithin the chamber in valve closing position, a knob secured to theouter end oi the plunger having a central passage, and a buttonextending through the passage having one end inside said pocket engaginga portion of the cam element on the side of the pivoted mountingopposite from the linger, said button having a limited slidingengagement with the plunger and an outside end on said button normallyextending beyond the outer surface of the knob adapted to be depressedagainst spring pressure to release the linger from normal plungerlocking position to allow manual pumping movement of the plunger, saidcamelement being adapted to automatically lock said plunger in Valveclosing position when the plunger is pushed inwardly sunicient to permitengagement of said finger and shoulder.

3. In a primer having a body, a substantially cylindrical chambertherein, inlet and outlet ports leading respectively into and out ofsaid chamber and a valve seat at the outlet port, the combination of onepart comprising a plunger reciprocably slidable in said chamber, a valveat the inside end of said plunger adapted to be moved against the valveseat, a recess in the inside end of the plunger and another partcomprising a, plug slidably positioned in the recess carrying the valve,one of said parts having a slot therein and the other oi said partshaving a pin passing through the slot for limiting movement of the plugand a coiled spring in the bottom of the recess normally extending theplug relative to the plunger, a ternporary spring pressed detentnormally urged into engagement with the body and subject to action ofsaid coiled spring, a knob secured to the outer end of the plunger, anda button slidably secured in the plunger engaging said detent andnormally extending beyond the outer surface of the knob adapted to bedepressed against spring pressure to release the detent from normalplunger locking position.

4. ln a primer having a body, a substantially cylindrical chambertherein, inlet and outlet ports leading respectively into and Kout ofsaid chamber and a valve seat at the outlet port, the combination of onepart comprising a plunger reciprocably slidable in said chamber, a valveat the inside end of said plunger adapted to be moved against the valveseat, a recess in the inside end of the plunger and another partcomprising a plug slidably positioned in the recess carrying the valve,one of said parts having a slot therein and the other of said partshaving a pin passing through the slot for limiting movement of the plugand a coiled spring in the bottom of the recess normally urging the plugoutwardly relative to the recess, said plunger at the other end thereofhaving an axial pocket and an axially extending slot in the plunger walladjacent the pocket, a spring pressed piston slidably mounted in thepocket normally urged in an outward direction, a cam element having apivoted mounting eccentric relative to the plunger axis having a camface engaging said piston and a ringer thereon normally extending out ofsaid slot, a nut surrounding the plunger substantially closing the outerend of the chamber and having an annular recess forming a shoulder onthe outside thereof normally engaging said linger to lock the plungerwithin the chamber in valve closing position and a sloping surface onthe inside thereof adapted to engage the rear side of said finger and tourge said linger into the slot when the plunger is moved inwardly of thechamber, a knob secured to the outer end of the plunger having a centralpassage, and a button extending through the passage having one endinside said pocket engaging a portion of the cam element on the side ofthe pivoted mounting opposite from the finger, a relatively wide annularrecess between the ends of the button having a relatively narrowanchoring element on the plunger engaged therein providing a limitedsliding lit for the button, and an outside end on said button normallyextending beyond the outer surface of the knob adapted to be depressedagainst spring pressure to release the nnger from normal plunger lockingposition to allow manual pumping movement of the plunger, said camelement being adapted to automatically lock said plunger in valveclosing position when the plunger is pushed inwardly sufficient topermit engagement of said linger and shoulder.

5. In a primer having a body, a chamber therein, inlet and outlet portsleading respectively into and out of said chamber and a valve seat atthe outlet port, the combination of a valve member reciprocably movablein the chamber, a valve face attached to said valve member adapted tomove against the valve seat, a plunger and a connection between thevalve member and the plunger providing limited reciprocal movementtherebetween, a temporary spring pressed detent on the plunger normallyurged into engagement with the body to lock the plunger in position, anda button movably secured in the plunger and engaging the detent, saidbutton normally extending beyond the outer surface of said plunger andadapted to be depressed against said detent to release the detent fromnormal plunger locking position.

GEORGE E. FRANCK.

